Entrepreneur says that streaming service can make record companies more money

Napster founder Sean Parker has claimed that Spotify will overtake iTunes in two years.

Parker, who was also an early investor in Facebook and has invested a reported $15 million in the streaming service, told a conference at SXSW that the company is capable of making more revenue for record companies than Apple.

If Spotify continues growing at its current rate in terms of subscribers and users, we will overtake iTunes in terms of the amount of revenue we contribute to the music labels in under two years.

Parker, who was portrayed by Justin Timberlake in the 2010 Facebook flick The Social Network, also criticised the service provided by the iTunes store, adding: “The iTunes store, to this day, is so slow. I’m amazed.”

Spotify’s influence on the music industry continues to grow. Earlier this week (March 14), it was reported that Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 chart will now use stats from sites including Spotify and Rhapsody to compile its chart placings, as well as download sales and radio play. The Official Charts Company, however, have said it has “no immediate plans” to include data from streaming services in the UK Singles Chart.

Last month (February 2), Spotify CEO and founder Daniel Ek claimed that it was helping the music business enter a “golden age” as people who share music online are more likely to buy more tracks and albums, and insisted that there was “not a shred of evidence” to suggest that musicians could boost their sales figures by not being on the service.

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However, figures such as U2’s manager Paul McGuinness have criticised the service in the past by claiming that artists are reluctant to embrace Spotify as they are unable to see its “financial benefit” and don’t view it as a legitimate business model.